Iran MPs oppose registering temporary marriages

Azerbaijan, Baku, March 5 / Trend M. Moezzi Iran's Majlis (parliament) has rejected a proposal to register temporary marriages, Fars news agency reports. Sattar Hedayat Khah, the representative for Boyer-Ahmadand and a member of the Majlis' legal and judicial commission, proposed the registration of temporary marriages to prevent their misuse and the potential harm they could cause women. The amendment was proposed to Article 22 of the Family Protection bill currently in the Majlis. The commission's proposal was that temporary marriages be registered under three circumstances: if the woman became pregnant, if the parties wanted to register the marriage and if registration was a stipulation of the marriage. Calling the amendment an intrusion into Iranian's private family affairs MPs voted 59-30 to reject it. Temporary marriage (sigheh) is sanctioned by Shia Islam as a way to avoid religiously unlawful (haram) relations between men and women. A couple decides the duration of the marriage, after which it is voided although a man can leave the marriage before it's agreed upon termination.